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HKNRY S. METZ'S 

HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 

OF 

Schuyler County, Illinois, 



AND- 



ADDRESSES 

;?ead and Delivered at the Centennial Celebration, July 4, 1876, 



-IN- 



J^XTSP-I^V^ILXjE, ILXjUsTOIS. 



! listory means wluit is a matter of rcvnrd ; 

a account oC facts, particularly of facts 
>l»;cUnii; Nations or States; a nurralion 

f even Is in tlic onler in wliich the^' hap- 
1 ened, with their causes and eil'ects. Ilis- 

)ry diil'ers from annals. Annals relate 

imply facts and events, and events in 

acli yciir in strict chronological order 
itliout any observations of the writer. 

listory regards less strictly the arrange- 
ments of events under each j'ear and ad- 

lils the observations of the writer. There- 
fore, in preparing ihis hist(n"y of Scliuyler 
county we shall only refer to facts as we 
can collate Ihem from, as wc suppose, 
anilu'ntic sources. 

Schuyler county wasfiDnied in Januaiy, 
1S2."), out of tlie counties of Pike and Fiil- 
I'lii. The act (Mvcling the county was 
pa,s-ed Jannarv Kitli, 18'j-j, and rc-uls as 
foll.ws: 

•■i5i' it ciiacti-il. Jic, Th:it ali Ihni iraci nl' coun- 
try within tlie I'Dllowini; l)OinHirius, to wit: I5o- 
Lrinniu'.' at tlie plafc where' tlic township lill(^ h(!- 
Twccn two aiul ihi-i'i' s.iuth. touches tho Illinois 



river, thence west on said line to the range line 
liotween ranges, lour anil I'lve west; Ihence north 
on said range line to the northwest corner of 
township three north range lour west; Ihence east 
on said township line t« the meridian; tlience 
down the meridian line to the southeast corner of 
township three north range one west; thence east 
(■n said township line to the Illinois river; thence 
down the said river to the place of beginning, 
shall constitntc a county to be called the county 
of Schuyler." 

Tlie boundries embrace what now com- 
l)oses llTe counties of Schuyler and IJrown. 
But in February, 1830, the county of 
Jjiovvn was cut ofl of Schuyler county, the 
trouble of reiiehing llushvillc (county seat), 
on account of the high waters of Crooked 
creek, being the main cause for the divis- 
ion of the county. There was much talk 
before the division of establishing the seat 
of justice at Ripley. 

Tiie act of erecting Schuyler county ap- 
pointed John i\dams, Stephen Olmstead 
and Ji'.mes Dunwoodee, of Morgan countj', 
comntissioners to locate the seat of justice, 
and wiio bu ated it at or near where Pleas- 



.ti 



autview uow slauds, uml called it Boards- 
lown. Bui atlerwards Jjcven Green, Thos. 
Blair and Benjamin Chadsey were ap- 
pointed I)}' the General Assembly to select 
a new location, and on the 20th day of 
February, 182(i, a little over iifty years aujo, 
they selected the i)resent site of liushville 
as the seat of justice, anil called it llusluon 
(after an eminent physician in Philadel- 
phia), which is the southwest quarter of 
section 80 in township Ia\m iiortli range 
one west, and on April 24th, 182(», the 
C'ounty Commissioners ordered tlie nau'.e 
.of the county seat changed from Kushion 
to Rusliville. , 

Thomas Blair, Samuel Mclvcc and 
Samuel Horney were the tirsi (Vmnty 
Commissioners. 

The first town lots in llu^hvilh' were 
sold July 4tli, 182(>, and it was ordered 
that the notice of the same be pahlished 
in the EdicnrdsoiHe Spectator. J. D. ]\[an- 
love was the first Surveyor of the county, 
Orris McCartnej^ tlie first Slieriff, J. !>. 
Terry the first Recorder and Circuit Clerk, 
Willis O'Neil the first Treasurer, and 
Majoi' Hart Fellows afterward held almost 
all the otficcs witliin the gift of the people 
at the same lime. 

The first court of record h.eld in the 
county vyas presided over by Judge John 
York Sawyer, and Wiis held in a little 
caliin belonging to Samuel Turiici', ai 
about where Pleasant view now stands. 

iiight here we will j'efer to some of the 
noted itersonages who have lived, and some 
who still reside in Scliuyler couiUy. 
Judge T. Lyle Dickey-, one of the Supreme 
Judges of tiie State, resided in this county 
in 1833-4. The lamented Senator W. A. 
Kichardson was a resident of liushville 
from about t8o5 until 1849, when he re- 
moved to Quiney. Hon. Robert Blackwell, 
author of "Blackwell on Tax-Titles," also 
resided in Rusliville until about the year 
1850. The Hon. Wm. A. Minshall, who 
was second to none in tlie State as a jurist, 
was also a resident of and died in this 
county in the year 1851. And last, but not 
least, we still Jiave in our midst Hon. 
Pinkney H. Walker, who has for over 
eighteen years graced the Supreme Bench, 
and for the inrseut term was elected with- 
out opposiiion. 

Schuyler count}^ embraces a sui)erficial 

. area of a little over eleven townships, or 

about four hundretl and fourteen scfiiare 

miles, and is bounded on the north by 

McDonough and Fulton counties, on the 



east by P\ilton county and the Hlinois 
river; on the souih by Bn)wn county, and 
on the west b}^ the counties of Adams and 
Hancock. When the couniy was ei'ectcii 
all the territory lying north of it, ;u\ii 
Hancock county, and west of the founii 
principal meridian, was added to Schuylci- 
for c<mnly purposes. Tlierelor-' Scluiyl r 
counlj- virtually extended to nnd includeil 
all the lerritorv norlh as far as lii.vk 
Island. 

Its surface is con.-iderably divcisiiicd 
N< ith It ills and valleys, pi'airies and heavily 
limbered, woodlands, the propoiti in (■ 
prairie and timbei' lands being about one 
of the former to tlm e of the latter. Almi' 
the blulls of Crooked creek and ib.e 111.- 
nois river the surface is (pnle liroken and 
hilly, but even these broken lands possess 
a rich an;i productive soil, and are vain 
;d)le for agricultural purp;ises wlicii'vi r 
they !U-e sufficienily level for cultivaiiun. 
The p,ai!'ies are mostly small and aie v 
snicted lo tlie norllierii and western po; 
lions of tiu' (■ouniy. Tlu^ connty isweii 
watered, mainly by Crocked creek mid ii - 
artiuents, which traverses its sonthei-n ,inil 
weslern portion, and h^' Sugar creek and 
the Illlnoi-; river, the former interseclin;' 
the e:iste;'n porJ.m of ihe c-junt}' and the 
latler forming in part its eastern b umdary 

Crooketi creek furnished c in^ider;iM' 
water p^iwcr, and in llie early settlement < I 
the county the iniiabitants of this and sev 
eral adjoining counties were depende,!! 
upon the water mills upon this siream !■! 
nearly all their milling facilities. AIoi. 
recently, however, steam power lias lo :- 
gr<?at extent superceded the old water mill, 
and most of the mills on this slreani liavr 
a steam engine attached to enable them to 
run throughout Ihe year. 

On the ridges adjacent to the small 
streams the timber is mostly black oak and 
hickory, liut on the more level jiortions of 
the timbered regions, as well as on the 
blufl's of the Illinois river, we find, in ;id 
dilion to them, Elm, Linden, Sugar Maple, 
Wild ('lierry and Honey Locust, mi 
arboreal growth which indicates a soil ol' 
the best quality, fully eipral to the besi 
prairie soils. 

Much of tire uplands, where this growl n 
of timber prevails, is underlaid liy the 
marlj' sands and clays of I lie loess and 
rank among ilie veiy best lands in the 
Stale. Fine blue grass pastures are easil\ 
made upon these lands, and the soil i. 



f5'H7 



u >A 



I 



well iidapleil to the growth of IVnit, espe- 
cialiy llu! gniiK'. 

On the eastern border <■[' Uie county 
Miereis a belt of alluvial bottoms, skirting 
llie Illinois river from ii mile to about 
(bur miles in width. Some portions of this 
land is above the high water level of the 
river, and these lands are very productive, 
while other portions are subject to annual 
overllows from llie river Hoods and are of 
liiile value for agricultural purposes. A 
C(insideral)le portion of tliis is bottom 
prairie, but there is usually a bell of heavy 
limlxn- skiiting the river, and also the 
small streams, by M'hich the bottoms are 
iuttrsecied. The timber on these low 
lands comprise Cottonwood, Sycamore, 
Soft :>Iaple, Elm, Ash, Hickory, Pecan, 
Spanisir Oak, Swamp White Oak, Pin 
Oak, iJlack ^Valnut, Hackberiy, Buckeye, 
Honey i.ocnsi. Pawpaw, Willow, &c. 

There are also belts of bottom lands up- 
on some of the larger creeks of ibis ((nmty, 
as on Ow.jked and Sugar cre-.'ks, l)Ut these 
s;'ld im exceeil a half mile in width, and 
are covered willi a heavy growth of timber. 
The first settlement in the county was 
mid.' by C!alvin Jlobart, on section six- 
li'Cii, liUsliviile townshi]), on the lOtii of 
Frt)iiii!ry, 182:5. W. H. Tayior, then a 
siiiule man, afierwai'ds (piile a noteil 
preacher, accompanied Mr. l[ol)ait. ITt; 
:uid jMiss Klizabeth Spoonamore had the 
honor of beiiig tiie first couple married in 
llie county, llev. Leven (4reen, tlu; first 
i'roieslant pi'cacher in the county, perform 
ing the marriage ceremony. The first 
wiiite child biu'u in the county was Wm. 
I*lgglestou ; the second was Ann Fellows, 
now Mrs. j\Iaro Farwell, of Fretlerick. 

On .Inly od, 18:54, the cholera, in its most 
malignant and destructive form, visited 
the community of Rushville and swept 
like an angle of destruction among its in- 
iiabitants. The old and young alike fell 
victims to the dread destroyer, and general 
mourning succeeded. 

The villages in the county consist of the 
f )llowing: 

Camden was laid off January 2S1h, 18:58, 
by Joseph N. Ward and Ivobert 'l>rown. 
Samuel McHatton was Surveyor. Camden 
is situaied on a high rolling prairie and is 
surrounded ])y a fine, rich firming coun- 
try. It has two churches, school building, 
a saw and grist mill, fourstores, two wagon 
shops, a chair shoi), and a good hotel. 

P.rooklyu was laid ofi" Octol)er 25th, 
18:{(i, l)v \Villiam C. Reno. Allen Persinsr- 



er was the Surveyor. It is situated on 
Crooked creek, and does quite a thriving 
trade. From the flaming advertisements 
in regard to the sale of its town lots in 
1837, wh.icli ajipearcd in Philadelphia, 
New York and Pittsburg papers, a person 
would be led to believe that Brooklyn at 
that lime bid fair to become the largest city 
in the i^lilitary Tract. ' 

Frederieksville, on the Illinois river, 
vv-as laid off by Frederick Johnte, May 
loth, 18:30. This town for many years was 
the river landing for llushville, Macomb, 
and in fact for all the country for thirty or 
forty miles northwest of llusliville, and 
was the town in the county next in im- 
])0i-lance to llushville. Within the past 
few years the Kockford, Hock Island and 
St. Louis Railroad has been built through 
the place, which has materially damaged 
the town as a shipping point. 

Littleton, Iluntsviile, Birmingham, Pleas- 
antview. Browning, BlntV City, liutlers- 
vllle, Csceola, Erwin, Hay Station, New- 
i)erry and Doddsville are thriving little 
towns .in the county, J)ut of which space 
will not peimit us to speak at length. 

Tlie war records of Schuyler county 
show that her people were patriotic to the 
utmost degree. In the yi'ars ls:i() and 18:51 
two comp;tnies raised in t^ie county went 
forth to tlie Blacik Hawk war. The first 
v.as comnnuKled liy Maj. Hart Fellows and 
the second by Major Jomithan Randall. 
Tiie troops rendezvoused at Beardslown 
r.nd w^ere under the command of Governor 
Reynolds. The fir.st encampment made 
after leaving Beardstown was on the Berry 
farm, just" beyond Jonathan Patteson's 
farm, about two miles east of Rushville 

In the year 184-1 the Mormon war broke 
out and a company of volunteers left Rusli- 
ville for the seat of wur. They marched 
as far as Augusta, Illinois, when, deeming 
the danger ()ver, thej' returned. 

In tlie year 184G the United States be 
came involved in a war with Mexico and 
two companies of volunteers were raised 
in Schuyler, and otTered their services to 
the General Government, which were ac- 
cepted. One company left in 1840, under 
Wm. A. Richardson as Captain, ;nid llie 
other in 1847, under Captain Adams 
Dunlap. 

During the late civil war Schuyler 
county did as much towards furnishing 
her qiioto of men for suppressing the re- 
bellion as any other county in the State in 
proportion to her population. Eleven full 



companies were raised in the county and 
toolv tlic lield, to wit : Company G, 16th 
Illinois Infantry Volunteers, under Capt. 
Wm. I-I. McAllister; Co. G, 28tli Ills. Inf'y 
Vols., under Capt. B. C.Gillam ; Co. G, 7:^(1 
111. Inf'y Vols., under Capt. John Sutlon ; 
Co. A, "TSth 111. Inf'y Vols., under Capt. 
Robert Blackburn; companies B, C, and 
F, 119th 111. Inf'y Vols., under Captains 
Geo. Parker, R. L. Greer and Josiah Slack, 
respectively; Co. I, ()2d 111. Vol's Iiifty, 
under Capt. Joseph McLean; Co. D, 115th 
111. Vol's Infty, Capt. Stephen M. Ilnck- 
slep; En,i;ineer Regiment of tlu; West, 
Capt. VVm. Hill ; one company in the lOth 
Missouri Cavalry, under Capt. Leojiidas 
Home}', and Co. K, ("hundied dazers") 
under Capt. R. A. Williams; two companies 
of cavalry, one under Captain Bredet, 
wdiich was raised in Mie Northwestein yor 
tion of the county and the other under 
Capt. Rutledge, which was recruited in 
Browning township. 

The first School J)istrict was formed in 
the 3'ear 182."), and to-day tiiere are over 
ninety school districts in the county, most 
of which are supplied with neat and com- 
modious school houses, and in the'city of 
Rushvillc (which comprises an Union 
School District) they have erected a large 
and liandsome edifice at a cost of over 
$50,000. In the county there are also over 
thirty church buildings, which show thai 
the county, during the lifty years of its ex- 
istence, whilst making adVancemeut in 
population has also advanced in equal 
ratio in the matter of education, morals 
and religion. 

In 1825 Schuyler county comprised an 
area of 864 square mile,s, and a population 
of 4,240 inhabitants. To-day, with an area 
of only 414 square miles, the population 
amounts to nearly 20,000; over 100,000 
acres of improved land of the value of 
about |G,000,000, which shows that what 
was a timbered wililerness in the year 1825 
has, by tlie induslr}- and energy of its 
inhabitants, Ijeen caused to bloom and 
blossom as the rose. 

Much niore could be said in i-egard to 
the history ot Schuyler county, but as I 
deem tliis sutHcienlly lengthy, will desist, 
tendering my sincere thanks to the gentle- 
men of tlie committee (Hon. VV. H. Ray, 
John Putman and .John C. Scripps) wlio 
appointed me hi.'^torian, being aware, how- 
over, that my al)ility has been inadetiuate 
in the task assio-n.-'d. 



I will close b}' appending a sliort rem- 
iniscence of the early settlement of the*^'' 
count}', -which v.-ould form no paft of the 
hlstoiy proper. 



Reminiscence is defined to be that facul- 
ty of the mind by which ideas lormerly 
received into, but forgotten, are recalled 
or revived in the memory; in other words,! 
recollection; or, recollection expressed. 
And in the preparation of this paiier, 
narrating a lew facts and incidents con- 
nected with the early settlement of Schuy- 
ler county, we do not presume that ihey 
have been forgotten by the older citizens 
ol the county, but consider it simply a 
comparison of notes between some of the 
early settlers, recounting their hardships ' 
and trials, pleasures, sociabilities and con- 
tentment. 

In the next place when the President 
requested each county to have its historj' 
written up and a copy furnished the libra- 
,rian ot Congress, ii was intended th.a 
said history should be but a part going to 
make up a whole of a history ot ihe . 
United Slates which is hereafter to be 
compiled ; and, as reminiscence is not his- 
tory, the following incidents would not 
properly belong to it. Therefore, with 
the aid of the earliest records of the conn- * 
ty, and the assistance ot I^lessrs. IJenjamin 
Chadsey, J. D. Manlove, William Wilson 
and a tew others of Schuyler's pioneers, I 
have prepared the following, thinking it .- 
may be ot interest to some: 

The first settlement in tiie county was 
made on section 16, Rushville to^vnship, 
on the farm now owned by T. W. Scott, ^ 
by Calvin Hobart, in the year 1823, and 
his wife, Sallie, was the first white woman 
who ever crossed the river into S huyler 
county. Wm. II. Taylor, then a single 
man, accomuanied them, and he and Miss ^' 
Elizabeth Spohnamore had the honor of 
being the first couple married in the 
county, which marriage was celebrated 
Nov. 25, 1825, by Leven Green, the first j, 
Metliodist or Protestant preacher in the 
county. The second marriage, James 
Lammers and Delila Keller. 

The family of Spolmamores came to 
the county in the year 1825, and ot said 
family there are still living Mrs. Nancy 
Marlow, Susnn Wilson (wife ot 'Unch; 
Billy" "Wilson) and Mr. Samuel Spohna- 



In coni|)<miig the records with the his- 
tory, as wriiten in the map of Schuyler 
county, I tind many discrepencios which 
these reminiscences will set at rights. 

Tlie pathway into the wikiei-ness hav- 
ing been blazed by tlie Hobaris in 1823, 
there came in the year 1824-5, Benjamin 
Chadsey ; ■lonatiian D. iManlovti, who was 
afterwards llie first surveyor; Samuel 
lloruey, Thomas Blair and Thontas Mc- 
Kee, aherwards ilie first county commis 
sioners ; J. B. Terry, first recorder and 
county clerli ; Orris i\IcCartney, atter- 
wards the first sherifl'; Willis O'Neill, 
ulterwards the first treasurer; j\raj. Hart 
Fellows, who afterwards held the offices 
of recorder, poblmuster, justice of peace, 
and every other ottice almost within the 
gilt of the people of the county; and a 
host of oihers wliose names we have noi 
space lo mention. 

The first election Indd in the county, 
alter its erection, was on July 4ih, 1825, ai 
Beardstown, near Pleasantview. Corne- 
lius Vandeventer, xVbram Oarlock, judges; 
If art Fellows and J. D. iManlove clerlis. 

In the year 182(i one Jesse Bartlcll a.s 
scssed the value of all the property in the 
counly. subiect to t„i.\alion and for liis 
•srrviccs received the grand sum of si.\ 
dollars, and, to day, ai'tei' a lapse of fifty 
years, and with a county half the size it 
was then, we have thirteen) assessors witli 
an average cost of $150 each 

Tlie first court in the county was pre 
sided over by Judge John York Sawyer, 
and was held in a little cabin just west of 
Pl(!asantview, where the county seat 
(called Beardst()wn) was located. The 
land is now owned and farmed by Geo. M. 
Greer, esq. The house or cabin was at 
the lime owned by Samuel Turner, and, I 
find, on page 11 of the early records, an 
order of two dollars for the use ol his 
cabin three days for court purposes. 

Slavery also seems to have been in 
vogue in Schuyler i:ounly filty years ago, 
as I find on page 43 of the records tlie fol- 
lowing: "Ordered, Tliat a county tax of 
one-half per cent, he levied on the follow 
ing described i)roperty, to wit: Slaves, 
indentured or registered negro or mulatto 
servants, on all vvheel carriages, stills and 
distilleries, horses, mules, stocks in trade, 
etc., etc." The revenue (or 1826 amounted 
to $118.90. 

The first licensed Icui-y across the Illi- 
nois livi'i' was eslaltlished June 5th, IS.Xi; 



application for same having been made by 
Thomas Beard, the same was granted 
upon his paying tlie sum of si.x dollars 
l")er annum into the county treasury. The 
ferry was across the river where Beards- 
town now stands, and the rates of ferriage 
affixed by the board nearly the same as 
lhe\' now are. 

The first tavern license was granted to 
Orris iVIcCartney, Nov. 3, 1825, upon pay- 
ing the sum of three dollars into the 
treasury and one dollar to thi' clerk. The 
following were the rates ho was allowed 
to receive : 

For tliet per meal 18}^ 

For liorse Iteeping- over night 25 

For horse feed 1254 

For lodg-ing- 6J4 

Wliisliy per half-pint 1254 

AVhislcy per g-ill 6J4 

Forcig-n spirits per half-pint 25 

Foreig'n spirits per gill 13i4 

Cirter, nietheglin and beer per quart ]2!4 

The first bridge built across Crooked 
creek was erected by Benjamin Chadsey. 
The contract was awarded him June 4lii, 
1827. The bridge was erected wh('i(! the 
State road from Uushville to Qnincy 
crossed said creek, near where tlie Kipley 
bridge now stands, and upon its comple- 
tion th(! county paid Mr. Ciiadsey the sum 
ot $400, the contract price. To day there 
are five bridges spanning that stream, 
costing about $4,000 each, which shows 
how much labor and material liave ad- 
vanced since 1827. Tlie Bridge built bv 
IMr. Chadsey was carried away by the 
waters caused by the melting of the deep 
snow in 1831, which lell to tlie depth of 
Ihiee teel on a level, and which it is said 
occasioned the destruction of much wild 
gjiine. 

The first school district erected in the 
county was ,fuly 22d, 1825, and was bound- 
ed as' folio A's: Beginning at northeast 
corner of section No. 4, Rushville town- 
ship (northeast corner .')f Geo. Simjison's 
present farm), thence; west to n(;rthwest 
corner of section 1, in Buenavista town- 
ship (the northwest corner of the section 
upon which Simon Doyle now lives), 
thence south to the township line (south 
line of John McCreery's farm), thence 
east to the southeast corner of section 33 
(near White Oak school house), thence 
north to place of beginning. It contained 
twenty (our square miles and was desig- 
nated as district No. 1. It is supposed 
that Jonathan H. Manlovc and his wife 



were the first teachers in this school dis- 
trict. 

Isaac Naught, George Naught, Thomas 
McKee Cornelius Vaudeventer, Peter 
Jonte and others were among tiie earliest 
settlers in the southern part of the county. 
An amusing but aggravating incident is 
related by Peter Jonte : He, being a 
Frenchman, and fond oi' wine, ordered a 
barrel of it to be shipped him from La 
belle France. It came, as per order, via 
New Orleans, and ui) the .Mississippi and 
Illinois rivers to Beard's terry, a distance 
of about 5,000 miles. He went thither 
with a team and wagon to bring it home, 
and, when coming up the blufi" hill and 
almost in sight of his house, the barrel 
rolled out the hind end of the wagon, 
down the hill several rods and was finally 
dashed to pieces against a tree. If he 
did n't swear, it is evidence throuah vviiat 
troubles and trials cluistian fortitude will 
bear a person. 

I will now give a few i)articulars 
concerning the early settlement of Rush- 
ville. As you have learned from the 
history, the seat of justice of Schuyler 
county was located March 6, 1826, by the 
commissioners appointed for that purposes, 
on the southwest quarter of s(;ction 30, 
3 north 1 west, and was called Rushton, 
after the name of Dr. Rush, an eminent 
physician of Philadelphia. But, on April 
24, 1826, it was ordered to l)e changed 
from Rushton to Rushvillc. The com- 
missioners appointed David I31air t > go to 
Springfield and procure the patent for 
said southwcs. of 30, and for which serv 
ice the records show that he received the 
sum of $2.50. 

After having procured the patent the 
county commissioners sold the east half 
of the quarter to Jacob White tor the sum 
of $150, which east half is all that part of 
the present town from a line drawn north 
and south, eighty feet east of the public 
square, to a line drawn north and south 
along the west line of Dr. 11. M. Worth- 
ington's premises. 

The first white child born in Rushville 
was Ann Fellows, now Mrs. Maro Far- 
well. 

The first court house erected in Rush- 
ville was a building I8.x;22, and one and 
one-half stories high, and, as the records 
say, was to have a good and snfflcient 
chimncj'. It stood on the north side of 
the public square, al about the same place 



where Griffith's store now slands It w;is 
erected in the fall of 1826. In the year- 
1827 (he clerk's ofl3ce was built much after 
the same style, on the east side of the 
square, wnere J. R. Neill's store, or Ry 
an's houses now stand. It was built i>v 
Alex, llollingsworth and plasteivd l>y 
JfUiies Powers. 

Tlie first scho 1 hon^^e was biiiiion lot 1 
block 1, where I he Gliristian churcli now 
^tiinds. The house was bnill in a hazlc 
thicket, as numy men in this audience, who 
attended school to Mr. Davis and received 
fiagellations at his hands, perhajts can 
attest. 

On July 24lh. 1829, a contniet was 
entered into between the comnu.ssioner.s 
of the count}' and Wm. McCreery and 
Benjamin Cliadsey for the buildiuL; of tiu^ 
court house wiiich now adorns I lie I'.ublie 
square in Rushville. The contract toi tlie 
foundation walls was awarded to Wm. 
McCreery tor the sum of $375, and the 
superstructure to IJenjaniin Chadsc;}' at the 
sum ot $2,050. Both jobs were pertornu'd 
Mccording to the terms of the contrail, 
and the court lion.se in Rushvillc is the 
cheapest house ever built in tin,', town. 
Today tiie stiaiaye or shiinkasi' woul.l 
amount to more than the cost of the build 
ing at that time. H.U't Fellows superin 
tended the building. 

The first jail was built on the same lot 
where the present jail now stands, but n 
little southwest of I lie present edifice It 
was built of logs, one and one-half stnries 
high, and the prisoners were let down into 
it by or through a trap-door or hatch wa\ 
cut through the upper floor. Joel Tuliis 
made the trap doors according to specifi- 
cations published, and received therefor 
the sum of $43. 

Benjamin Chadsey made the first ballot 
box used, and for which, the county com- 
missioners allowed him the sum of $1.75. 

Elizabeth Sprigg was the first ward in 
the county who had a guardian a[)pointcd 
for her; Rev Leven Green being appoint 
ed. The first ward to choose a guardian 
under the law was Reuben Lock, who 
now resides just beyond Riidey on the 
road to Mt. Sierliuir. To-day mir respect- 
ed member ot Congress, Hon. J. C. Baglty, 
is alone guaidian of over eighty miiiorp. 

On December 23, 1859, the county court 
ordered that John Rilchey be authorized 
to purchase of Abram Louderback, one or 
two acres of land in some suitable and 



lonvcnieiu place sis ii cemetery, near 
liuishville. fic did so by pnrcliasing two 
acres of ffround where the old sand stones 
now stand in the beautiful cemetery in the 
suburbs ol Riislivillc. 

In the year 18o-i (July ij), the cholera 
made its appearance in the thriving settle 
meiit ot Kushville and swept liue a 
iji'som of destruction over Hie couuiy. 
Tlic >lr(ui,u man of mature years, the aged 
and tiie young alike succumbed to the 
aiiack (if ihc dread destroyer Keliriiig 
at ui-Tlil in good heallii, many slept thai 
sleej) that knows no waking. William 
McCreery was the first who succumbed to 
the disease and Mr. Putman, father of 
John and Brovver Putman, the secniul. 
Many others whose name^ I can not ascer 
lain, fell victims to the epidemic. 

The nuly executions for murder in 
Schuyler cniaty were, Thomas Morgan, 
tor t'be murder of Frank Everts, which 
was committed on the top of Coal Creek 
hill, on the lower road Id Frederick. He 
was executed in 1884, on tlie Crane-Creek 
hill, at Gallows loiil, near where Perry 
Neill now lives The next execulion.s 
were the .McFaddens, lather and son, who 
were executed in June, 1885. fm- the mur- 
der of one Thomas Wil.son, in the c )Uiity 
ol McDonough, and their trial was movecl 
here oif a change of venue. Hon. \V A. 
Richardson, iirosecutiu'^^ attorney, prose 
cuted, and Cyrus Wallier and \Vm. A. 
Minslnill, Schuyler's most brilliant law- 
yers, delended. After a fair and impartial 
trial, the parties were convicted and sen 
lenced to be hung. Uncle Ranslaer Wells 
was foreman on the jury which convicted 
them. Mr. Joseph Dennis, I understand, 
has tiie boards which composed the scat- 
told, in his barn, three miles north of 
town. They were hung at Gallows ford, 
just below Mrs. Neill's, on Crane creek. 

I could multiply incidents indelinitely, 
but considering this sketch sufficiently 
long, I will close by reading a letter I re- 
ceived from Mr. J. D. Manlovc : 

FoET Scott, Kansas, Juug 11, 1876. 

Henry S. Mktz, Esq.: Yours of the 
1st inst. just received and ctmsidered. 
Will endeavor to com]ily with your request 
by giving such information as I have; that 
is not of record. 

Wlicn I first came to Schuyler, which 
was in September, 1824, there was only a 
hldzed pathway from where Beardstowii is 
to Section 16 in Rushvillc township. 
Thomas Beard had a small ferry-boat that 



would cross a wagon and two horses, hy 
unhitching the horses and crowding in ; 
but Mr. Beard was not there, and the boat 
was on the west side of the river. At the 
blulTs east of Beardstown Mr. Samuel 
Homey and I met with Mr. Thomas Mc- 
Kee, who then lived where Esq. Lawlcr 
died. I being the younger swam mj- horse 
over the river, it being low, antl brought 
the boat over. There was a vcr^' small log 
cabin built about where H. Foster's store 
was, and it was built over a snake-den, 
where all kinds of snakes came in the fall 
and took up their winter quarters. 

In February, 1825, I removed to Schuy- 
ler and became a citizen of the county. 
There were living then on the Kith section, 
2 N. 1 W., Calvin Hobart, Orris McCartney, 
Nathan Eels, Wm. H. Taylor, Sanund 
Goodie and Grandsire Hobart, tlie fixther 
of Calvin Hobart, a very old man and a 
revolulionary soldier. D. E. Blair was 
living on the old Phillips place, near Geo. 
M. Greer's ; Thomas Blair on the old Tyson 
place; Thomas McKee on the Lawler 
place; Joel Pennington on the McCartnej^ 
place; Riggs Pennington on the place 1 
sold to George Little ; Levin Green on the 
old Spaiks place ; George Stewart on the 
Vail place; Willis O'Neil on section 16, 
1 N. 1 W. ; Samuel Horney and I im- 
proved where George Manlove lives; Cor- 
nelius and Isaac Vandevcnter lived at the 
l>luff, northwest of Meredosia, then in 
Schuyler. 

I noticed some errors in the atlas map 
of Schuyler. Calvin Hobert did not settle 
on sccticm 17 first, but on 16; Jcmathan 
Reno did not settle in the county in 1828, but 
in 1825 ; Wm. Robeson was the first settler 
in Browning township; E. Eggleston did 
not settle in Camden township in 1824, but 
Robert and John Brown were the first set- 
tlers ; Henry and John Green were the first 
settlers in Buenavista townships, and other 
errors of minor importance. 

At the first and second court held in the 
county the lawyers were Jas. Turney (Attor- 
ney General), John Turney, Jonathan H. 
Piigh, A. W. Cavarly and David Prickett; 
John York Sawyer was the Judge. I piloted 
them to Quincy, there being no road to 
that place, and David Sacket packed their 
beef, corn bread and whisky. We camped 
the first night near where Camden now 
stands. At McKee's creek, near Columbus, 
we diftered about the way to Quincy. 
Judge Sawyer, Cavarly and Prickett took 
an Indian trail and went some twenty miles 
into Pike county. The Judge was very 



sick iiud they tiki not get to Quincj^ until 
sundown next day. The Turne\,s, Pugli 
and 1 leaclied tlieiv two hours" liy sun 
same evening. 

About 1823 McCarlncy and lieard 
brought a laige drove of hogs (pointers) lo 
the county, expecting to raise corn and 
keep them tame, Ijut the large amount of 
mast so.in made them inckspeudenl and 
wild, and they soon overrun the country 
as far as McDonough county. The Indiaii 
dogs ran them as other gair.e, and any per- 
son killing them were alh)\ved h;df tor so 
doing. As there were at that time no 
others they were of some little henefit to 
settlers. But dissatisfaction with the In 
dians and their dogs was universal, and in 
March, I think, 1836, nineteen nun (all 
there were that could go) calk-d on them 
at a trading house just I)eh)vv Crooked 
creek, on the river, killed some of tlieii' 
dogs and gave them ten days to leave. Tlie 
traders were also notitied to leave, or their 
effects (ammunition and wiiisky) would be 
thrown into the river. Tliat was the las! 
of the Indians, as th(?y immediately left. 

In tlie summer of 1826 I taught' school 
in my own cabin, on the Little place, and 
my wife laugiit on section 16, near the 
Minshall place (both single then). 1 was 
the lirst County Sui'vej^or and Joiin B. 
Terry first Recorder; Levin Green and 
James Vance first Magistrates. Le\in 
Green was tlie first preacher (Methodiblj 
and a Mv. Sweet (Baptist) was I lie next. 
Mr. S. only preached twice, perhaps. ;Mr. 
Green c«.uld preach faster, say more sharp 
biick-woods tilings, and make stronger and 
better illustrations than any illiterate man 
I have ever heard. Cyrus L. Watson 
(Pi'esljytei'ian) was the second settled 
preaciier. 

Mr. C). Ilobart had the first mill (band 
mill), and Thomas jNIcKee, Geoige Nott (or 
Naught) and Ciu'nelius Vandevcnter liad 
hand mills. Though we were depiived of 
many comforts we were friendly, social 
and happ}-; made use of common sense 
and were content, hoping for bettei' times 
in the future. 

^[yself and pc^rliaps Orris McCartney, 
of Casyville, Wisconsin (if he is still alive), 
are the only persons living who were adults 
when I came lo Schuyler county. The 
judge and lawyers alluded in a previous 
paragraph are all dead except Mr. A. W. 
Cavalry, who resides at Ottawa, 111. 

Mr. Solomon Slandberry, who wa."* stop- 



ping wiihJolin Uitelicy, who lived on the 
lilace now owned by Isaac Garrison, was 
the first to die in the countj^. He died of 
typhoid fever. I went to Jacksonville for 
Dr. Taylor, who said he wouM he deal on 
my rol'urn, which proved to Ije true. 

I have taken lime and believe what I 
have given is correct, but have nit sail] 
aiiytiiing aliont what is of i-eC'>rd except 
in relation to tlie Recorder, Surveyor and 
Magisir.'iles. They are not noticed' in llie 
map of the county. You have the facts 
and can arrange them as you think proper, 
liespeelfullv \ours, 

J. D. MvNi.ovi:. 

ADDRESS OF PROF. H. A. SMITH. 

[Not being able to obtain a copy of l^rof. 
Smilii's oral ion, the merest outline is 
given.] 

To-day with a poptilati )n of forty mil 
lion tree men, we are not ashamed di tin 
Republic and its supporters. Tlioiigh 
naloinal sins have lieen comniiited, yet if 
the heroes of 1770 could look upon us 
now, they would be proud ot the people 
for wliO'^e lilierty they solemnly ami mn 
tually pledged their lives, iheir fortunes 
and their sacied honor. 

We hold these*! rut lis to be self (n-jdent, 
that all men are creat(Hl equal, that they 
are endowed by their Creator with ceitain 
inalienable rights, that among these are 
life, liberty and the pursuit ol' happiness. 
Tiie emancipation proclamation gave the 
negroes an erpial right to life, liberty and 
the pur-suit of happiness, hence all are 
equal before the law. It cost the blood of 
patriot sons and millions of treasun; to 
preserve and perjietuate the L^nion. And 
her founders upon the menioi'at)le 4th of 
July, 1776, gave to us ihe title deed of our 
liberties. 

The great intestine strife vidiich prostra 
ted tliis country, is without parallel. Amer- 
ica is second lo none in the progress of 
arts, science and industry. Her fertile 
lands are blossoming with peade an:l plenty 
the reward of skillful lalKU' whicli aims to 
secure tor all the greatest good. 

Our government is tlie proudest and 
best, because it gives the humblest a chance 
for wealth, honor and distinction. 

Tlie ballot box is all powerful in purify- 



9 



iiiii '.he bddy politic, and should be guard- 
ed as lh« hope of the Ilepublic. We 
imist elect noble and worth}- men to till 
positions ol' tnis-t. Private and public 
duties shuuiU go hand in hand. Our mag- 
nificent rivers, broad valK'y* and moun- 
tains ot mineral wealth produce all the 
necessities and most of the Inxniies ot'lile. 
We have numerous and superior seats of 
learinni;-, which yearly send out cultivated 
men and woniiMi, and it is intellect that 
has reared up the magniticent structure of 
the temple of our national glory. 



ADDRESS OF HON. P. H. WALKER. 

In responding to the toast, "The Legal 
Profe.ssion," I may be permitted to refer 
to the past rather than the present. It is 
there tiiat we must look to find the char- 
acter id I he professicm, unobscured by 
piejudice, and thus to form a more correct 
appreciation of its jMesent standing. 
When we look to England, whence we 
have drawn our laws, our morals, and our 
civilization, we find areat names in the 
profession who struggled 1 ard for the lib 
eriy of the |)eo|ile and were not nnsuc- 
re.-i.stul in resisting the encroachments ')f 
power. Or, if we turn to onr own coun- 
try, we find the legal profession have 
l)een as active, lieroic and devoted as any 
oiher class to the princi|)les of lilxri}', 
ami struggled as manfully for the achieve- 
ment of our independence, in the framing 
ol our government and in maintaining 
our institutions. They may not, as a rule, 
have gone into the tented field, tliey may 
not have endured the vicissitudes of war, 
but they sustained the cause by wise coun- 
sel, and providing the means, and lending 
uKwnl force, and encouraging the waver- 
ing, and sni)porting measures indispens 
able to success. 

Educated, trained and thoroughly drilled 
in the eternal principles of justice and 
ri:^ht, the lawyer is dally and constantly 
contendinj;' tor their assertion and applica- 
tjiui in the ordinary aflairs of life. By 
liiese principl<!s and their constant appli- 
cation, the lawyer, of all others, should 
grow in the knowledge of truth, justice 
and right, and the great lawyer can only 
violate these principles knowingly and pre 



meditatedly. Of all men they should be 
the most moral, just and upright. 

And we find in the complex organiza- 
izatiou of society, government and our 
civilization, the lawyer, like the divine, 
the physician, the editor, the politician, 
Uie agriculturist, the tradesman, the 
artisan and the laborer, has his part to per- 
form in the world's great drama. It is 
his duty to sec; that the strong and affluent 
shall not oppress the weak and. helpless. 
It IS his province to resist aggressions of 
government on the rights and liberty of 
the people on the one hand and to sustain 
the government in the exercise of all of 
its legitimate rights on the other. The 
study of tiie profession fits them for the 
performance of these and many other 
highly important duties to the individual 
and to the public. 

English and American history abounds 
in brilliant examples ol heroic efforts by 
members of the profession in behalf of 
liberty. They, as a class, have been con- 
servative in its better sense. They iiave 
advanced steadily, but cautiously, in the 
attainment of higlier and broader princi- 
ple, in the administra'ion of justice, and 
m securing men in their just rights. 
Whilst government and law in their ad- 
ministration, like all things human, 
must be imperfect, still the profession 
labors for the coirection of all wrongs. 

What I have here said, of course, applies 
to the thorough and learned lawyer, and 
not to those who have never maaleretl the 
principles of the science. 

The profession, from their study and 
their constant efforts in the administra 
tiiui ot justice, learn practically the imper- 
feclion of the laws, and the necessities of 
the people. Tliey thereby become well 
qualified, for the p-.sition of legislators 
ind executive officers. Hence, we find 
many of tlu^ most profound and brilliant 
statesmen, of this and the mother conntr}', 
have been equally great as lawyers. 
Whilst Mansfield, ILdt, Coke, Hardwick 
and a host of others have, by their judi- 
cial eminence, shed glory in British his- 
tory, Mtrshall. Kent, Tany, Storey, Par- 
sons and many others, have cast imper- 
ishable brilliancy on our own country. 

And, when we turn to the bar, the 
spiu\te and the halls of congress we find 
the names of Hamilton, Webster, Henry, 
Martin, Wirt, Pinkney, Clay, Calhoun and 
a long' array of other names, of whom we 



10 



may be justly proud. It' we turn to our 
legislative bodies, we there find they have 
been no less conspicuous. The profession 
has been well represented in those bodies, 
and have there developed many of our 
profoundest statesmen, who have aided in 
maintaining our institutions, in promot 
ing our interests, and developing our 
civilization. 

If we turn to our great struggle for 
national independence, we there find that 
the profession took an aclivu, it not a 
leading, part in its achievment. They 
were generally on the side of the people 
and opposed to the encroachments of-ihe 
crown. Their burning eloquence an)used 
the people to resistance, and nerved them 
to uattle for their rights. And we may 
justly claim for them some of the credit 
in achieving our liberty, and in esttibiish 
ing ana maintaining a government, formed 
in unsurpassed wisdom, estal)lished on the 
great principle ol equal and exact riglu 
and justice to all And if it shall be wisely 
and purely administered, it is capable ol 
affording greater and more uniform pro 
lection to all than any other evfr founded. 

If we turn to the executive department 
we there find the profession has heen well 
represented [Ot the fifteen presidents 
elected by the penple, and the three who 
became presidents by succession,] it is 
claimed [that fourteen at least were law 
yers, and under the administration of tliese 
lawyer presidents, the country has 
marched on in an unprecedented course of 
glory, prosperity and power.] And we 
find that they have been governors of 
States, and have filled with himor cal>inet 
offices. In fact they have filled every po 
sition of trust under the government with 
credit to the public service and honor to 
themselves. Nor should we be surprised 
to find it so, inasmuch as the training of 
the profession qualifies them for the ad- 
ministration of the affairs of government 
better than that of any other profession or 
calling. Other professions have to add 
the study of the science of government to 
that of their profession, whilst with the 
lawyer, he can not become eminent in his 
profession without also understanding 
well tlie principles ot government. 

We may then conclude that, during the 
century just closed, the legal profession 
have done their part and discharged their 
duty t ) the government, and to society, 
quite as well as other professions and 



callings. They have been quite as active ^ 
as others in producing the condilioii of 
things existing at present, of wliich wo 
are so justly proud And it is to be hoped 
tiial the protession may remain uncor- 
rupted, and evei' take a lively interest antl ' 
pride in defending the right and in oppo.s- 
ing wrong, oppression and injustice, come 
whence it may. It is my most fervent 
wisli that tile profession may remain tor > 
another century as al)lc, as pure and uvefnl 
as it has been in the past hnndred years. 
If it should, an appreciative people will 
confer deserved honors upon its members , 
and repay them witji uistinction. I iiope 
it may ever be as worthy of trust and 
honor in the future as it lias in tlie past. 



ADDRBSS OF JUDQi: E. J. FEMBERTON 

THE UNION .\SOUK FATHERS M VI>E IT. 

FelloiD citizens, ladies and gentlemen: 

Only one hundred years ago today, 
only a good long life time for a person > 
this g(»vernment of ours first sprang 
into existence — was born And con- / 
templating her rapid progress and 
wonderlul development in education, 
science, wealtli. inventions and produc ' 
lions, already spoken of in part, springing 
at a l)ounil from weakness to strength and 
numbers, scattering her products into 
every part of the known world, furnish ^ 
ing a home and shelter to the oppressed of 
all nations, and still maintaining thfl vir- 
tue ot its citizens, so that she now num- 
bers her millions of patriots, all qualified 
alike for the bailie field and the harvest 
field, for the use ot the sword and the 
scythe, and a whole nation of women 
fitted to all domestic duties; contemplat- ■ 
ing, i say, her progress and development, 
pushed on until foremost among the 
nations of the earth, and all acconiplislied 
within a lite time, leads us to liken llie 
circumstance to the fabled story of 
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, wIkj, in 
her birth sprang lull-grown at a l)oiind 
from the brain of Jove. 

This progress and development, this 
position among the nations of the earth, 
this national glory, wrought out in so 
short a lime, is diietty in consequence of 
the institutions and government left to us 



11 



by our fathers. I reter lo the system of 
tlie Union of the States under tlie consti 
tntion — the wise parceling and distribu- 
lion of t!ie powers of government by 
granting lo liie general government only 
such powers and funclious as ar3 essen- 
tially national in their cliaracter and 
needs, and reserving to the Slales formed, 
and to the i)eople, all other powers, func- 
tions and privileges whatever, to be ma- 
niprdated only hy those immediately con- 
cerned, and leaving no man or men to 
participa'e in the exercise of any function 
or powei' who is not himself, together with 
others, directly interested therein. 

fo this wise distribution of the powers 
ot government. I say, we are indebted for 
almost all we are lo day, for almost all ot 
our national progress and development; 
lor, by it all national burthens, of inter- 
conise with olhei nations, looking to the 
pi-ace, order and Interests of tlie States 
collectively, executing and enforcing the 
constitution of the United Slates iii all 
its departments, furnishing of revenue and 
every thing pertaining to nationality and 
nece-sary for i s maintenance are removed 
forever trom the Slates and granted to 
and retpiired to be performed by the gen- 
eral government, and the States respect 
ively left to loi.k to and further al' l(»cal 
interests and developments, so that no 
progress, no improvements, no develop 
ment, no advancement receives any check 
or obstruction from the government, but 
are all protected and lurthered by appro 
niiale co-extensive legislation. This is 
wherein our government sits lightly upon 
our shoulders 

Under this governmental policy she has 
moved with rapid strides from the original 
family of thirteen States to three times 
that number at present. This policy 
allows no dependent territory governed 
from without, but erects all into States 
and leaves all local matters with them; 
and no sooner is any portion of her terri- 
tory weaned from territorial childhood, 
than such portion springs .at once into 
womanhood and greatness, and helps to 
make up and adorn that grand galaxy of 
equal States, all sisters and symboled by 
the stars upon the field of her banner, and 
all moving on in mutual interest and affec- 
tion under that glorious motto ot ''State 
sovereignty joined with National Union." 

This union of the States is the secret of 
our pro.sperity in the past, our only hope 



for the future, the anchor of our future 
existence and security, our political Gi- 
braltar which our enemies do and ever 
will seek to carry first. I would write the 
sentiment on every banner, let it float to 
every breeze, hand it down to all coming 
posterity, hold it in common with the 
recognition of Jehovah and the duties 
owing to him, and instill it into the poli- 
tics of every man and child, not permitting 
even a thought or imagination of what we 
should do in case of centralization or dis- 
memberment, but hold it as a sacred sen- 
timent that this government must forever 
continue a government of the States unit- 
ed under the constitution, and her banner 
never be sullied bj' the obliteration or 
dimming of a single star, nor the prosper- 
ity or peace of the nation blighted, nor 
the individual rights of any of its citizens 
engulfed in either consolidation or disin 
tegration 

In all my toastings I would toast this 
Union of the States, the Union under the 
constitution, the Union as our fathers 
made it; and I would fill the bumper full. 

A long time ago a famous Grecian law- 
giver gave to his countrymen his code of 
laws, and left his country on a journey to 
die away from home. And, knowing the 
simplicity and worth of the code of laws 
he was giving them, and the high esteem 
in which they held him, he, in the hope 
of perpetuating those laws among them, 
enjoined on them to keep and maintain 
those laws until he should return. 

Now, while we in our rapid progress 
and change of interests can not keep and 
maintain all minor laws adopted, yet 
our lawgivers of unparalleld wisdom — 
our fathers who passed through affliction 
and oppression — who knew both peace 
and war — who came up out of great tribu- 
lation, washed, as it were, in sad experi- 
ence and unselfish virtue. These fathers, 
these law-givers gave to us this model of 
government, the Union of the States under 
the constitution for an inheritance, and 
have gone on a long journey. Let us then, 
in keeping with the injunction of the 
Grecian law-giver, show our esteem and 
regard for our lawgivers, and the system 
they gave, by keeping, preserving and 
maintaining this model of government 
until they return. 



12 



ADDRESS OP R. H. GRIFFITH. 

"THE STATE OF lliLlNOXS." 

I am extremely fortunate in speaking 
after the noble utterances of Judge Pern- 
bcrton I am sure every heart iu the as- 
sembly responds to his noble sentiments, 
and I am glad that, as a member of the 
opposite political party from Judge Pern- 
berton, I can stand here to day and tully 
endorse the words yon have just lieard. 
There has been in some parts of our 
country a bogus doctrine of State sove- 
reignty, a doctrine now forever banished 
to the chimeras of the pa.t by the lesuU 
of the late civil war. Bui the true doc 
triuL- of State sovereignty is tliat which 
has just been set before you, " State sove- 
reignty under the constitution <it the 
Union." Here is where we stand in lUi 
nois. For this we have spent our blood 
and our treasure. 

But while we love our land and nation, 
we love our State, and are proud of it and 
its history. The Illinoisan wlio lias not, 
next to wife and children, a warm, loviu!,^ 
place in his heart of hearts for his noble 
State, is not fit to breathe this air, nor 
roam over these prairies. And, what 
reason we have to be proud of our Sta'e! 
The motto on the coat of arms of our 
neighboring State of Michigan is, "Si 
quaeris peninsttlam amoenam circumapice" 
("If you seek a beautiful peninsula, look 
around you."). And so, I say, if you 
would see the glory of our State, look 
around you. See her vast net- work of 
railroads, see her towns and cities that 
have sprung up like magic upon her prai- 
ries, see her vast coal fields, and her ter 
tile prairies, look at her manufactories of 
woolen, of iron, of watches, of almost 
everything used in our homes! 

But it is of her men that Illinois is 
chiefly proud. When the Almighty would 
teach mankind to reap the golden harvests 
b5'a more rapid mean.'! than the cradle and 
the scythe. He raised up a McCormick and 
his compeers, who gave us the reaping 
machine. When He would teach us to 
plant corn by means of horse power, Ho 
took a mechanic from one of our -vork 
shops to give us the corn planter. To 
day the plows of Illinois an* in use from 
Virginia to California, and are assisting 



the farmers of Europe to ciiltivaie their 
soil 

When I came to Illinois, nearly iweniy- 
tive years ago, Stepiien A. Douglas, Die 
"little giant of riie Northwest," was in. 
tlie zenith of l»is himc, and not only in 
Illinois, but through lliis land Irom Morth 
to South, he went, with liis ciaiiou voici-, 
speakiu:; noble words for the Union au'i 
constilution And, when our God would 
raise up a man to guitle this naiiou 
througli a long and bloody war, lie came 
here to Illiuoif, and out of the ranks oi the 
legal pro'ession, of which Judge Walker 
has just so ably spoken, he took a Liiu'oln 
to guide the nation to peace and liberty. 
And, when a general was necussary to 
lead our armies through this war, he was 
found here in tlie tannery of Galena, a 
man whom we can not judge iinparlially 
now, l)ut who will stand fortli hereafter 
on ihe page of history, as one ot the great 
est captains of this or any other age. 

But, gentlemen, 1 am proud of this 
county in which we live. When 1 canu' 
to Schuyler county, it used to be ilu- 
fjishion of £ome to decry our county as 
beiuL"^ very insignificant, and of Utile ac 
count any way. But, my fellow citizens, 
we have no cause to blush lor our coiuity . 
It is one of the smnllest in teriib)iial ex- 
tent, and in popuhilion, l)ui \\ noliiiiiu' 
else is il inferi(?i- Inwealih, in mincial 
resources, iu agricultural wealth, in man 
ufactories, in (iverj' thing that goes to 
make a State, it is comparatively in no 
whit behind her sisters. In tin; adniirabk- 
history of this county, which has been 
read in your hearing, you heard of Hart 
Fellows, who, at one time, held almost all 
the offices in the gift of the people. When 
he went to California he was immediately 
elected by the people there to a responsi- 
ble position, and has been occupying it 
ever since Our sons are today occupy 
ing positions of honor, of usefulness, ami 
responsibility in Kansas, Nebraska, lovv.-i, 
and everywhere in the Wes'. And her.' 
is the Hon. Pinkney H. Walker, who lias 
graced the supreme bench of our Siiite for 
so many years. And here on this p'aiforin 
sits one of the heroes of Schuyler county, 
Benjiunin Cliadsey, the man who imili 
this court house so honestly and cheaply 
Here too sits, to day, Capl. Adams Dun 
lap, the man who led a company (nn 
army, I was going to say), of Schuyler 
cimnty heroes to win part oi Mexico to 



13 



beconio part oi' our ualini:, hctoio miiny 
of this tiLidicnce was born. But, gentle- 
uu'ii, these are men of an a,i(e passing 
away. The present is not beliiiid liieni. 

\Vlien tills counly was altanhed to oMieis 
in one conuressioiial (Hstiiel, so tliat tliere 
was a ell inre tor ns t > elect a Kepublican 
member of C'ongrcss, u(! nilered the con- 
vention a man, our clioicc, wliom they 
were wi.sc enouiih to make their candidate. 
And, wjicn tlie Democrats, two years ago, 
tlionglit tliey .-iaw their cli(ncc. tliey came 
to Sciiuykir, took their candidate and 
elected him. We have never been ashamed 
of eitlier of tliem, and are goinji' to gel 
one ot tiiem back again this lall, if we 
can. 

Now, my fellow citizens, T will not de- 
tain yon longer, bnt in closing, give yoii 
this senlimeiit, " iSchnyler county, one ol 
the smallest, hut in ever}' respect the peer 
ol her sisters. 

ADDRESS OF REV. J. B. WOLFE. 

•' OUK PIIFCE SCHOOLS." 

Ladies and Gentlemen : 

Every advanced form ol' government re- 
quires, lor its prosperity and |)ei'petuity, 
a grneial dill'nsion of knowliMige!' What- 
ever resources of wealth a nation may 
liave are more eflectually utilized hy the 
touch ol inlelligenl labor. Improved in- 
telligence must lavoradly afTect tiie moral 
conscience of the people. 

Such is the construction of society 
everywliere that knowledge can not be 
generally ditiused except by public insti- 
tutions of learning nuiintained by legisla- 
tion. Let these be propositions for dem- 
onstration and let us see their relation 
uarticularly to our Republic. 

Let us see the influence ol knowledge as 
difTused through the public school .sy.steni: 

1. It greatly promotes the material pros- 
perity of a nation. Intellectual culture, as 
imparted by it, touches into greater effi- 
ciency and activity our commerce on 
land and sea, moves upon mechaiiicial in- 
dustry, and develoi)s and husbands our 
agricultural and mineral productiveness. 
Pauperism is reduced by the education of 
the. masses. Statistics fully demonstrate; 
that as education increases, pauperism 



diminishes, In 1870 this country support- 
ed one hundred and sixteen thousand 
paui)ers, at the cost of eleVen million dol- 
lars. More than nine tenths of these pau- 
pers are illiterate. Adopting a system of 
free scliools, affecting the culture of each 
child to the present standard, would save 
about eleven million dollars, restore a bun 
drcdjthousand persons to the number ofia- 
dustrious producers, and almost double the 
productive pmver of the laborer, ft in- 
creases the skill, gives a higher ap;irecia- 
tion of civil rights, and lh(;reby augments 
the military force of a nation. In the 
late Franco-Prussian war every indication 
seemed, to the casual observer, to favor 
the triumph of France. But two genera 
tions had passed since France had Prussia 
subordinated, and entertained a taunting 
spirit of superiority over her; while the 
latter barely endured it for the time, gath- 
«ring strength by the education of her 
children. When the time of the conflict 
came, the French army confidently crossed 
the Prussian lines only to be astonished, 
humiliated, and defeated by the superior 
intellectual Ibrce of the Germans The 
defeat .vas so sudden and complete that 
the imperial lillies scarcely liad time to 
halt in their disgraceful retreat. General 
education intensified the heroism that 
gave triumpli to German arms. Sucli are 
our resources of wealth and the relation 
we sustain to other governments, that no 
nation needs such general culture more 
than ours. 

2. It is a powerful means of quickening 
the ni'iral conscience of the nation. A. 
nati(m can nfil be prosperous very long 
without moral conscience. "Righteous- 
ness e.xalteth a nation, but sin is a re- 
l>roach to any peojile," is the Divine phi- 
h)sophy of a nation's exaltaliou. It is 
needed especially in this radical nation, 
the inslitutions of which make almost 
every man a politician. All true culture 
tends upward. Because the Creator's pur 
pose was clearly that men's faculties 
should he developed, it follows tha' a neg- 
lect of the law of development would 
work disaster. The carefulness that char 
acterized the conduct of the two great 
political parties in this country in their 
recent nomination of candidates for the 
chief offices of government was in respect 
to the meral conscience of the people and 
that greatl}' indebted to the God favored 
institution of free schools. 



14 



3. There is uuoUicr aecounl nf the up 
ward influence of e<U)C!ii ion in a coimtiy 
like ours. Moral and christian influence 
compasses society like a pure atmospliere. 
Faculties, opened by education, uucon 
sciously absorb it in suflicient amount to 
be at least outwardly improved. iVs the 
tree putting forth its leaves through them 
opens millions of mouths which diink in 
the nourishment supplied by the air, so is a 
mind whose thouelit power Spens out in a 
christian land. l)t the ;iG,000 criminals 
prosecuted and imprisoned, ninety per 
cent are Irom tlie illiterate class. I'auper- 
ism and crime cost more than the wliole 
annual expense of common schools How 
is this illiteracy to be destroyed ? Through 
our free nchools furnishing an oppoitunity 
to all for intellectual culture. 

4. The extent among the people and tlie 
degree of intellectual culture necessaiy 
for the safety and perpetuity of a govern 
ment, is in proportion as it approaches a 
Republic. If we go into the despotic re- 
gions of the East, we will find but little 
culture and as little required for Hie mis 
erablerule. In despotic Asia and Africa, 
but little intellectual training is necessary 
to carry on their idea of government. In 
England, where a limited form exists, 
there is much need tor the diff"usion ol 
knowledge. In Republican America, 
where there is uo royalty except in rela- 
tion to the King of kings, no official in- 
heritance, but the design of the election ot 
personal merit and adaption, how much 
greater need for general and thorough dif- 
fusion of knowledge. National ignorance 
18 the source of national ingratitude, mor- 
al degradation and wretchedness. 

There is great danger in oir country to- 
day by the elective franchise being exten- 
ded to thousands of Ignorant citizens, 
placed in this relation by the almost in- 
evitable results of the war. 



By inslinct the lide ot immigialion is 
set toward our shores, and must always be 
thus. In 1870 when our population wa» 
only a liltl-i more than 38,000,000, there 
were 5,000,000 wlio were born in foreign 
lands, and 10,000,000 more whose parents 
were boin in hueign lands, giving us al 
most one halt the nation practically 
l.neign. Many of these come wiiii cnnle 
ideas of our inslitntiims, unless I buy can 
be Anieiicanized, the exercise of ciiizen 
ship here nui.st peril our liberties. Ldno 
one suppose that we lack triendship tin 
the foreigner. He is always welcome 

We remember thai opposite and antag- 
onistic civilization can not co-exist under 
one torm ol government. The old Roman 
Empire finally embraced so many diverse 
elements that ii lell to pieces There was 
uo unityii.g torce. If ruin resulied Irom 
such causes in an empire, liow much more 
swiftly it must eoine to a Republic Ti> 
harmonize and unity these elements, our 
tree schools are indispensable. While they 
nquip all the coming men ami women for 
citizenship, by giving them intelligence, 
it gives a peculiar other fitness to the 
mind of the foreigner, a thousand times 
better security to the country tlian the 
oath ot allegiance. 

Let us, then, cherish tmr tree scho(d 
system. Let us look to it as llie means ot 
the elimination of iunorani-e trom the ua 
tion, the preparation of ihe mind for the 
better reception of moral truth which, 
coupled together, shall increase the pro- 
ductiveness of our material wealth, purity 
the conscience of the nation, adjust our 
civil polity to more i>erleclly accord with 
the moral code, and transmit to future 
generations a government in health and 

wisdom. 
[The above is set up from the rough 

draft of the original, without revision by 

the author.] 



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